Ted Stevens, 1923-2010

It has now been confirmed: Ted Stevens, the former senator from Alaska, died in a plane crash on Monday night near Dillingham. The 87-year-old served in the Senate from 1968 until 2008, when he lost amidst a corruption investigation that was later dropped. He was the longest-serving Republican in Senate history. Five of the plane's nine passengers died. In 1978, Stevens survived a plane crash that killed his first wife. Ex-NASA chief Sean O'Keefe was also on the plane, but survived and is expected to recover after suffering from broken bones.